Concerns about the coronavirus outbreak’s threat to the world economy grew Saturday as authorities in the U.S. reported its first domestic death from the virus and President Donald Trump denounced criticism of his response to the threat as a “hoax” cooked up by his enemies. China’s manufacturing plunged in February by an even wider margin than expected after efforts to contain the virus shut down much of the world’s second-largest economy, an official survey showed. The survey, coming as global stock markets fall sharply on fears that the virus will spread abroad, adds to mounting evidence of the vast cost of the disease that emerged in central China in December and its economic impact worldwide. The list of countries touched by the virus has climbed to nearly 60, with new cases reported Saturday in Lebanon, Mexico, France and Ecuador. More than 85,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, with deaths topping 2,900. The U.S. reported its first domestic death from the illness Saturday in a medical facility in a Seattle suburb. The victim was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions, according to Washington state health officials. Authorities aren’t yet sure how he acquired the virus, as he was not known to have traveled to any affected areas. Health officials in Washington state say they’re also investigating two cases of the illness at a long-term care facility in the Seattle suburbs — one a resident and the other a health care worker — and whether the virus has spread to other residents and staff. “Additional cases in the United States are likely, but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover,” Trump said Saturday at a briefing, in which officials announced heightened warnings about travel to certain regions of Italy and South Korea, as well as a ban on travel to Iran. Many cases of the virus have been relatively mild, and some of those infected are believed to show no symptoms at all. But that can allow for easier spread, and concern is mounting that prolonged quarantines, supply chain disruptions and a sharp reduction in tourism and business travel could weaken the global economy or even cause a recession. The monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by the Chinese statistics agency and an industry group fell to 35.7 from January’s 50 on a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate activity contracting. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a 270 billion yen ($2.5 billion) emergency economic package to help fight the virus. Abe said at a news conference that Japan is at critical juncture to determine whether the country can keep the outbreak under control ahead of the Tokyo summer Olympics. Abe, whose announcement this past week of a plan to close all schools for more than a month through the end of the Japanese academic year sparked public criticism, said the emergency package includes financial support for parents and their employers affected by the closures. “Frankly speaking, this battle cannot be won solely by the efforts of the government,” Abe said Saturday. “We cannot do it without understanding and cooperation from every one of you, including medical institutions, families, companies and local governments.” As governments scrambled to control the spread and businesses wrestled with interruptions, researchers working to better understand the disease reported that the death […]
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